"Whether we luck out and find the wreckage or not, at least our tracks will be preserved so that in the future if someone wants to give this a try they'll know where we already were and they can got to the next mountain range over," he said.

The area being searched is close to the ranch of hotel magnate Barron Hilton, at Yerington, from where Mr Fossett's plane had taken off for a flight expected to last three hours.

The team will cover about 20 miles (32km) a day

The rugged terrain includes mountain peaks between 10,000ft (3,000m) and 11,000ft (3,350m).

Team members, who are paying their own way, have a base camp between the Bodie Hills and Sweetwater Mountains.

They began their search on Monday and hope to cover up to 20 miles (32 km) every day until Friday or Saturday, depending on the terrain.

Mr Donato, 31, said Mr Fossett was a hero to many people and he dismissed speculation that his disappearance might have been staged.

"We're here on the premise that he did crash, unfortunately," he said. "I really respect him. He has done so much."

Following Mr Fossett's disappearance, many private and military planes searched an area of about 20,000 square miles (51,800 sq km) for him.

Ground searches were also carried out and other volunteers scoured high-resolution satellite photographs over the internet.

Widow 'not involved'

In August Robert Hyman, an American investor and mountaineer, plans to bring in a team of up to 15 climbers, mountain guides and others with local expertise to scour an area east of the section where Mr Donato will search.

Mr Hyman has said he will focus on the Wassuk Range of mountains.

Mr Fossett's widow, Peggy, has issued a statement saying that she is not involved in the latest search and has "no further plans for additional searching".

Steve Fossett had about 100 world records to his name.

In March 2005, became the first person to fly a plane solo, non-stop around the globe.

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